scholarly journals Investigating Microstructural Changes in White Matter in Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1151
Author(s):  
Abdulmajeed Alotaibi ◽  
Anna Podlasek ◽  
Amjad AlTokhis ◽  
Ali Aldhebaib ◽  
Rob A. Dineen ◽  
...  

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterised by widespread damage of the central nervous system that includes alterations in normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) and demyelinating white matter (WM) lesions. Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) has been proposed to provide a precise characterisation of WM microstructures. NODDI maps can be calculated for the Neurite Density Index (NDI) and Orientation Dispersion Index (ODI), which estimate orientation dispersion and neurite density. Although NODDI has not been widely applied in MS, this technique is promising in investigating the complexity of MS pathology, as it is more specific than diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in capturing microstructural alterations. We conducted a meta-analysis of studies using NODDI metrics to assess brain microstructural changes and neuroaxonal pathology in WM lesions and NAWM in patients with MS. Three reviewers conducted a literature search of four electronic databases. We performed a random-effect meta-analysis and the extent of between-study heterogeneity was assessed with the I2 statistic. Funnel plots and Egger’s tests were used to assess publication bias. We identified seven studies analysing 374 participants (202 MS and 172 controls). The NDI in WM lesions and NAWM were significantly reduced compared to healthy WM and the standardised mean difference of each was −3.08 (95%CI −4.22 to (−1.95), p ≤ 0.00001, I2 = 88%) and −0.70 (95%CI −0.99 to (−0.40), p ≤ 0.00001, I2 = 35%), respectively. There was no statistically significant difference of the ODI in MS WM lesions and NAWM compared to healthy controls. This systematic review and meta-analysis confirmed that the NDI is significantly reduced in MS lesions and NAWM than in WM from healthy participants, corresponding to reduced intracellular signal fraction, which may reflect underlying damage or loss of neurites.

2007 ◽  
Vol 65 (3a) ◽  
pp. 561-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel E. Maia de Andrade ◽  
Emerson L. Gasparetto ◽  
Luiz Celso Hygino Cruz Jr. ◽  
Fabiana Brito Ferreira ◽  
Roberto Cortês Domingues ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE: To study the white matter of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) with diffusion tensor magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (DTI). METHOD: Forty patients with clinical-laboratorial diagnosis of relapsing-remitting MS and 40 age- and sex-matched controls, who underwent conventional and functional (DTI) MR imaging, were included in the study. The DTI sequences resulted in maps of fractional anisotropy (FA) and regions of interest were placed on the plaques, peri-plaque regions, normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) around the plaques, contralateral normal white matter (CNWM) and normal white matter of the controls (WMC). The FA values were compared and the statistical treatment was performed with the Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: The mean FA in plaques was 0.268, in peri-plaque regions 0.365, in NAWM 0.509, in CNWM 0.552 and in WMC 0.573. Statistical significant differences in FA values were observed in plaques, peri-plaque regions and in NAWM around the plaques when compared to the white matter in the control group. There was no significant difference between the FA values of the CNWM of patients with MS and normal white matter of controls. CONCLUSION: Patients with MS show difference in the FA values of the plaques, peri-plaques and NAWM around the plaques when compared to the normal white matter of controls. As a result, DTI may be considered more efficient than conventional MR imaging for the study of patients with MS.


Author(s):  
Talaat A. Hassan ◽  
Shaima Fattouh Elkholy ◽  
Bahaa Eldin Mahmoud ◽  
Mona ElSherbiny

Abstract Background Multiple sclerosis is one of the commonest causes of neurological disability in middle-aged and young adults. Depression in MS patients can compromise cognitive functions, lead to suicide attempts, impair relationships and reduce compliance with disease-modifying treatments. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the microstructural changes in the white matter tracts of the limbic system in MS patients with and those without depressive manifestations using a diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) technique. Methods This study included 40 patients who were divided into three groups. Group 1 comprised of 20 patients with relapsing-remitting MS with depressive symptoms and group 2 comprised 10 MS patients without symptoms of depression. The third group is a control group that included 10 age-matched healthy individuals. All patients underwent conventional MRI examinations and DTI to compare the fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the white matter tracts of the limbic system. Results We compared the DTI findings in MS patients with and those without depressive symptoms. It was found that patients with depression and MS exhibited a significant reduction in the FA values of the cingulum (P < 0.0111 on the right and P < 0.0142 on the left), uncinate fasciculus (P < 0.0001 on the right and P < 0.0076 on the left) and the fornix (P < 0.0001 on both sides). No significant difference was found between the FA values of the anterior thalamic radiations in both groups. Conclusion Patients with depression and MS showed more pronounced microstructural damage in the major white matter connections of the limbic pathway, namely, the uncinate fasciculus, cingulum and fornix. These changes can be detected by DTI as decreased FA values in depressed MS patients compared to those in non-depressed patients.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 175628641983780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Prosperini ◽  
Revere P. Kinkel ◽  
Augusto A. Miravalle ◽  
Pietro Iaffaldano ◽  
Simone Fantaccini

Background: Natalizumab (NTZ) is sometimes discontinued in patients with multiple sclerosis, mainly due to concerns about the risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. However, NTZ interruption may result in recrudescence of disease activity. Objective: The objective of this study was to summarize the available evidence about NTZ discontinuation and to identify which patients will experience post-NTZ disease reactivation through meta-analysis of existing literature data. Methods: PubMed was searched for articles reporting the effects of NTZ withdrawal in adult patients (⩾18 years) with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Definition of disease activity following NTZ discontinuation, proportion of patients who experienced post-NTZ disease reactivation, and timing to NTZ discontinuation to disease reactivation were systematically reviewed. A generic inverse variance with random effect was used to calculate the weighted effect of patients’ clinical characteristics on the risk of post-NTZ disease reactivation, defined as the occurrence of at least one relapse. Results: The original search identified 205 publications. Thirty-five articles were included in the systematic review. We found a high level of heterogeneity across studies in terms of sample size (10 to 1866 patients), baseline patient characteristics, follow up (1–24 months), outcome measures (clinical and/or radiological), and definition of post-NTZ disease reactivation or rebound. Clinical relapses were observed in 9–80% of patients and peaked at 4–7 months, whereas radiological disease activity was observed in 7–87% of patients starting at 6 weeks following NTZ discontinuation. The meta-analysis of six articles, yielding a total of 1183 patients, revealed that younger age, higher number of relapses and gadolinium-enhanced lesions before treatment start, and fewer NTZ infusions were associated with increased risk for post-NTZ disease reactivation ( p ⩽ 0.05). Conclusions: Results from the present review and meta-analysis can help to profile patients who are at greater risk of post-NTZ disease reactivation. However, potential reporting bias and variability in selected studies should be taken into account when interpreting our data.


2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuelle Cassol ◽  
Jean-Philippe Ranjeva ◽  
Danielle Ibarrola ◽  
Claude Mékies ◽  
Claude Manelfe ◽  
...  

Our objectives were to determine the reproducibility of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in volunteers and to evaluate the ability of the method to monitor longitudinal changes occurring in the normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). DTI was performed three-mo nthly for one year in seven MS patients: three relapsing-remitting (RRMS), three secondary progressive (SPMS) and one relapsing SP. They were selected with a limited cerebral lesion load. Seven age- and sex-matched controls also underwent monthly examinations for three months. Diffusivity and anisotropy were quantified over the segmented whole supratentorial white matter, with the indices of trace (Tr) and fractional anisotropy (FA). Results obtained in volunteers show the reproducibility of the method. Patients had higher trace and lower anisotropy than matched controls (P B-0.0001). O ver the follow-up, both Tr and FA indicated a recovery after the acute phase in RRMS and a progressive shift towards abnormal values in SPMS. A lthough this result is not statistically significant, it suggests that DTI is sensitive to microscopic changes occurring in tissue of normal appearance in conventional images and could be useful for monitoring the course of the disease, even though it was unable to clearly distinguish between the various physiopathological processes involved.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susana Muñoz Maniega ◽  
Rozanna Meijboom ◽  
Francesca M. Chappell ◽  
Maria C. Valdés Hernández ◽  
John M. Starr ◽  
...  

AbstractBrain white matter hyperintensities (WMH), common in older adults, may contribute to cortical disconnection and cognitive dysfunction. The presence of WMH within white matter (WM) tracts indicates underlying microstructural WM changes that may also affect the normal-appearing WM (NAWM) of a tract. We performed an exploratory study using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging of 52 healthy participants from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (age 72.2 ± 0.7 years) selected to include a range of WMH burden, to quantify microstructural changes of tracts intersecting WMH. We reconstructed tracts using automated tractography and identified intersections with WMH. Tissue volumes and water diffusion tensor parameters (mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA)) were established for tract-WMH and tract-NAWM. MD and FA were also measured for tract-NAWM at 2 mm incremental distances from the tract-WMH edge, and from the edge of nearby, non-intersecting, WMH. We observed microstructural changes in tract-WMH suggestive of tissue damage. Tract-NAWM also showed a spatial gradient of FA and MD abnormalities, which diminished with distance from the tract-WMH. Nearby WMH lesions, not directly crossed by the tract, also affected tract microstructure with a similar pattern. Additionally, both FA and MD changes in tract-NAWM were predicted by FA and MD changes respectively in tract-WMH. FA was also predicted by tract-WMH overlap volume, whereas MD was better predicted by whole-brain WMH load. These results suggest that tract-NAWM microstructure is affected by the pathological process underlying WMH, when WMH are either within or near to the tract. The changes in NAWM tract tissue may indicate future lesion progression and may play an important role in cognitive ageing.


Author(s):  
Jeong-Whun Kim ◽  
Seung Cheol Han ◽  
Hyung Dong Jo ◽  
Sung-Woo Cho ◽  
Jin Youp Kim

Abstract Olfactory and gustatory dysfunction are frequently reported in patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, the reported prevalence of olfactory and/or gustatory dysfunction varies widely, and the reason for the inter-study differences is unclear. Hence, in this meta-analysis, we performed subgroup analyses to investigate the factors that contribute to the inter-study variability in the prevalence of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction. Out of 943 citations, we included 55 eligible studies with 13,527 patients with COVID-19 for a systematic review. The overall pooled prevalences of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction were 51.4% and 47.5%, respectively, in the random-effect model. In subgroup analyses, the prevalences of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction were significantly different among four geographical regions (both P < 0.001, respectively). Although the prevalences of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction did not significantly differ according to the time of enrollment, the subgroup analyses including only studies from the same geographical region (Europe) revealed a significant difference in olfactory dysfunction according to the time of enrollment. The regional and chronological differences in the prevalences of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions partly explain the wide inter-study variability.


2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ş. Temel ◽  
H.D. Kekliğkoğlu ◽  
G. Vural ◽  
O. Deniz ◽  
K. Ercan

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. Diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTI) can yield important information on the in vivo pathological processes affecting water diffusion. The aim of this study was to quantitatively define water diffusion in normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) distant from the plaque, in the plaque, and around the plaque, and to investigate the correlation of these changes with clinical disability. Conventional MRI and DTI scans were conducted in 30 patients with MS and 15 healthy individuals. Fractional anisotropy maps and visible diffusion coefficients were created and integrated with T2-weighted images. Regions of interest (ROIs) were placed on the plaques on the same side, white matter around the plaques and NAWM on the opposite side. Only the white matter of healthy individuals in the control group, and FA and ADC values were obtained for comparison. The highest FA and lowest ADC were detected in the control group at the periventricular region, cerebellar peduncle and at all ROIs irrespective of location. There was a significant difference in comparison to the control group at all ROIs in patients with MS (p < 0.001 for all comparisons). No significant correlation between diffusion parameters and expanded disability state scale (EDSS) scores was found in patients with MS. DTI may provide more accurate information on the damage due to the illness, compared to T2A sequences, but this damage may not be correlated with the clinical disability measured by EDSS score.


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